South Shore commuters: So close and yet so far

Overcrowded buses, 40 stops on an express bus route and a vacant, all but useless, $9 million Pleasant Plains Park-and-Ride have Manhattan-bound commuters from the South Shore hunting for a solution to improve the way they get to work.
(Photo Courtesy of Colleen Meehan)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - SOUTH SHORE - Overcrowded buses, 40 stops on an express bus route and a vacant, all but useless, $9 million Pleasant Plains Park-and-Ride have Manhattan-bound commuters from the South Shore hunting for a solution to improve the way they get to work.

"Staten Islanders have never had an easy commute," said longtime South Shore resident Diane Mattioli, who admitted that things have only worsened since one bus route, the Atlantic Express (AE) 7, was terminated at the end of last year.

Since then, Mrs. Mattioli, along with dozens of express bus riders, have started a large e-mail chain that documents their commuting experiences.

Today, most commuters wait at "The Checkpoint," a stop shared by the X22, X23 and X24 routes at Arthur Kill Road and the West Shore Expressway. It's way overcrowded.

"I've lived on Staten Island for many years, and we're still commuting the same way we did in the 1970s. We haven't really made any major improvements," said Mrs. Mattioli, who lives in Tottenville. Even though the South Shore's population has risen, express buses to Manhattan have failed to keep pace, she said.

Mrs. Mattioli often travels out of New York and has noticed that other cities are much more advanced in how they offer services for commuters.

Mrs. Mattioli has seen Smartboards, navigation technology and alternatives for Manhattan-bound New Jersey commuters, but they've yet to be put into use here.

"I don't think they're really thinking out of the box. We're still acting like it's the 1970s," she said. "Technology is out there, and it's not being used here."

The only addition in recent times has been the MetroCard, and even that is flawed, she added.

"You would think there would be a way to count to know whether a bus is full or not," she said. "When buses are full, the drivers continue to make stops."

When that's done, commuters often get on the vehicle and notice that there's no where to sit or stand.

"All this slows the process. They should have a sign that says 'No seats. Next bus,'" she recommended.

DISAPPOINTED

Adam Reback of Pleasant Plains moved to the Island in 2005. He came here thinking that the long-proposed South Shore-to-Manhattan ferry, which was projected to be built near his home at St. Edward's Pointe would have been operational by now. At this point, little has been done.

"We watch the New Jersey ferries go right by every day. How simple is it to just build a parking lot?" he said. "There's even a pier there."

Reback called the express bus system "not efficient," and said a viable solution is a true express bus, from the Park-and-Ride to Manhattan.

"I don't think anybody's looking for a bus that makes a stop at every street corner," he said, noting that the current method includes 40 minutes of "touring" Staten Island before the bus reaches the highway to Manhattan.

Since living here, the options for getting to Manhattan have progressively gotten worse, Reback said, not better, because the population has grown.

"Nobody's doing anything to keep up with that demand on the system," he added.

Last month, numerous elected officials – City Councilman Vincent Ignizio (R-South Shore), Council Minority Leader James Oddo (R-Mid-Island/Brooklyn), Rep. Michael Grimm (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn), State Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-South Shore), and Assemblyman Lou Tobacco (R–South Shore) – asked the MTA to consider a proposal laid out by members of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) which would divert service to make up for the loss of the AE7 route.

The proposal calls for four out of the 16 morning runs to originate out of the now unused city Department of Transportation (DOT)-owned Park-and-Ride before completing the Staten Island portion of the route and heading to Manhattan.

This would allow commuters use of the facility, and maintain morning service from Tottenville and Hylan Boulevard. The ATU believes that this can be done almost immediately, with no increased cost to the MTA, according to the plan.

An MTA spokesperson said the matter is still being discussed. Oddo, Ignizio and Molinaro are expected to meet with the MTA this week.

FRUSTRATED

Mrs. Mattioli's experiences over the years have included buses to Manhattan from Academy Bus Co., Atlantic Express, Domenico Bus Services Inc. and Olympia Trails Bus Co., she said.

"They came and gone," the woman said.

AE is trying to re-establish its South Shore route, but it needs a subsidy for approximately $675,000 from New York City to make that happen.

During a Community Board 3 meeting last month that included a presentation from AE, approximately 35 commuters voiced their concerns, which echo those of Mrs. Mattioli and Reback.

"Giving this route back to Atlantic Express does nothing," said Reback. "I don't think it solves the problem."